MARCH 12, 2009

British firm to design French GP track

Pierre Bedier, the president of the Yvelines Conseil General has revealed details of the planned F1 factory at Flins-Les Mureaux, in the Seine Valley to the west of Paris. Bedier said that the French firm of Wilmotte et Associes has presented the best project, which includes the circuit design by the British firm Apex, which designed the Dubai Autodrome and is involved with a number of other circuit designs around the world. The track will be 2.8 miles in length and will be laid out on a 235-acre site. The plan is for 120,000 seats and budget estimates for the project are $142m. The circuit will include a conference centre capable of hosting 1000 people so that the track can have other events in the course of the year.

The track will feature a long straight of around 1000m. This will go into a tight corner and will be preceded by a fast corner and that should provide plenty of opportunity to overtake.

The design was picked by a jury of 18 people and its chief attraction was that it respects the local environment while also creating sustainable development.